Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Just 14 days until the LSC Basketball Championship!

LSC BASKETBALL
Another blast of winter weather once again affected the Lone Star Conference basketball schedule last week as teams compete for a berth in the LSC Basketball Championship. The Tarleton State women are the only team still undefeated in divisional play at 9-0. The TexAnns will host West Texas A&M Wednesday.
The LSC men have a 189-146 overall record so far this season, including a 105-70 mark in the South Division and 84-76 in the North. In league crossover action, the South Division holds a 36-20 record over its North opponents including a flawless 7-0 record by West Texas A&M. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 25-12 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 6-2 against the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).

The LSC women are 175-174 overall, with a 77-96 mark in the South and 98-78 in the North this season. In league crossover play the North has the advantage, 38-26, including a perfect 8-0 mark by Northeastern State over the South teams. The women’s teams are currently 18-22 combined versus Heartland Conference squads and 4-2 against the MIAA in the NCAA South Central Region.

CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE
All-session tickets are now available for the upcoming Lone Star Conference Basketball Championship at a discounted rate. All tickets purchased by the February 23 deadline will come with a $20 savings off the regular price as well as a free LSC Basketball Championship souvenir. This year’s LSC Basketball Championship will be played March 2-6 in Bartlesville, Okla., for the fourth and final time. The top eight men’s and top eight women’s teams from the conference will combine to play 14 games over a five-day span, culminating with the women’s championship game on Saturday night, March 5, and the men’s championship contest on Sunday afternoon, March 6.

All-session tickets are $35 if purchased in advance. After Wednesday’s deadline for advance purchases, the price will be $55 for all-session tickets or $12 per session. Student prices will be $27 for all-session tickets or $7 per session. The tournament will be played in eight separate sessions, with two sessions per day on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, along with single sessions on both Friday and Sunday. Fans can purchase tickets by contacting their local athletic department through Wednesday, Feb. 23. Also, tickets are available online at the LSC website (www.lonestarconference.org).

STAT LEADERS
In men’s games played last week, the LSC had two players score more than 30 points, 10 over the 20-point mark and six double-digit rebounders, while four recorded a double-double. Top performances included:
Points, Men: 33, Chris Hagan, MSU at ENMU
Rebounds, Men: 11, Five players
Assists, Men: 11, Lionel Foster, WTAMU vs. ASU &am p;am p;nb sp;
Steals, Men: 6, Zach Williams, ACU at Kingsville

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NORTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Desmond King, Texas A&M University-Commerce, JR, Forward, Alexandria, La./Paris JC
King averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and three assists in two games including a 13-point, 9-rebound and six-assist effort to prevail over No. 8 Central Oklahoma, who was previously unbeaten in North Division play. He was 10-15 from the field and 7-10 from the free throw line in wins over UCO and Northeastern State.

NORTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Brad Hambrick, Texas A&M University-Commerce, JR, Guard, Sherman, Texas/Sherman HS
Hambrick averaged two steals along with three rebounds and seven points while helping hold Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma to .383 and .369 field goal percentages, respectively. Hambrick contributed greatly to a defense that forced 18 NSU turnovers and 14 for UCO.

SOUTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Chris Hagan, Midwestern State University, SR, Guard, Houston, Texas, Westfield HS
Hagan poured in 27.5 points and dished out 5.5 assists per game to lead Midwestern State to a pair of South Division victories over Eastern New Mexico and No. 21 Incarnate Word last week. The 5-9 guard delivered his third 30-point effort by finishing with a game-high 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting including five 3-pointers and was 8-of-11 from the free throw line to lift the Mustangs to an 81-79 win over the Greyhounds Wednesday night in Portales. He followed with solid all-around effort of 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four assists in an 81-71 win over the nationally ranked Cardinals. The senior guard connected on 18-of-31 shots (58.1 percent) from the field including a 6-of-13 effort (46.2 percent) from the arc. Hagan continues to lead the LSC in scoring at 22.2 points per game.

SOUTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Darrick Thomas, Midwestern State University, JR, Forward, Dallas, Texas, Samuell HS
Thomas’ solid effort in the paint helped Midwestern State to a pair of LSC South Division wins over Eastern New Mexico and Incarnate Word last week. The junior transfer from Wallace State-Hanceville averaged 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game including a 9-rebound, 3-assists, 1-block effort Wednesday at ENMU and a 4-point, 11-rebound, 4-block performance in Saturday’s win over UIW. Of Thomas’ 20 boards, 14 came on the defensive end of floor as he played just 23.0 minutes per game.

NORTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Jessica Hanna, Texas Woman’s University, JR, Guard, China Spring, TX, China Spring
Hanna led the team in scoring with 19.0 points per game and helped the Pioneers to two wins. She shot a team best .556 from the field, .800 from the three-point range and 1.000 from the free-throw line. Hanna also handed out seven assists during the week. She scored a game-high 24 points on the road at Southwestern Oklahoma and then added a team-high 14 points versus Cameron.

NORTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Sabelle Diata, Cameron University, JR, Guard, Dakar Senegal
Diata was the top all around player for the Aggies this week and she recorded a double-double in this week’s games. Against Texas Woman’s, Diata posted 16 points and pulled down 14 total rebounds (11 defensive, 3 offensive). She shot 6 of 8 from the line as well. Against ECU, Diata had a monster night by leading all scorers with 21 points and pulling down 17 rebounds (12 defensive, 5 offensive). She was 8 of 14 from the field and a perfect 5 for 5 from the charity stripe. Diata also dished the ball well and tallied three assists and two steals. She was a defensive wall, routinely posting up inside to hold the opposing post player out from the basket or stepping out to the perimeter to guard the opposing team’s best shooter. She was used in a variety of ways and was a defensive difference maker all over the court.

SOUTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Mack Lankford, Abilene Christian University, FR, Guard, Weatherford, Texas, Weatherford HS
Lankford helped the Wildcats rebound from back-to-back losses to Angelo State on Saturday and Monday with two wins over West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville last week. ... Lankford – who leads all LSC South Division players in scoring at 17.8 ppg – scored 17 points, picked up five rebounds, dished out three assists and had six steals in the Wildcats’ 67-66 home win over the Lady Buffs on Wednesday. ... ACU trailed by 11 points with less than six minutes to play, but rallied to beat the Lady Buffs for the fourth straight season in Abilene and for the fifth time in the last nine meetings between the teams. ... Lankford then led ACU to a blowout road win at Kingsville on Saturday, pouring in 21 points and dishing out seven assists in an 82-64 win. ... Lankford has now scored in double figures in 10 straight games and in 18 of ACU’s 22 games this season.

SOUTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Shelby Adamson, Tarleton State University, JR, Guard, Rockwall, Texas, Rockwall HS
Adamson played a major role in the TexAnns’ two win last week, guarding both Incarnate Word and Eastern New Mexico’s dangerous point guards. Adamson held the two players to a combined 1-for-12 in the two games, while helping Tarleton hold opponents to just 36.6 percent from the field and 60 points on average. She also chipped in 10.5 points per game and eight assists over the two-game stretch. Her defensive prowess is a big reason the TexAnns are 19-2 on the year.

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes are ranked 23rd in this week’s NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Division II Coaches’ Poll, as released by the NABC today.

The Buffaloes (19-4, 6-4 LSC), won games this past week at Abilene Christian (77-65) and against Angelo State (81-61) to move back into the rankings.

This marks the fifth week this season for the Buffs to have been nationally ranked. WT was ranked four times, previously, this season, but fell from the rankings on Feb. 8. This marks the first season in which the Buffs have been ranked multiple times since the 1997-98 season, when they appeared in the rankings 10 times.

Since joining the Division II ranks, the Buffs have been in the national rankings a total of 33 times, dating back to the 1986-87 season. Their highest ranking was fifth, which they attained most recently on Feb. 16, 1998, while their highest end-of-season ranking was ninth at the conclusion of the 1997-98 season.

In addition to the Buffs, two additional Lone Star Conference teams are among the Top-25, including seventh-ranked Central Oklahoma and 25th-ranked Tarleton State.

The 23rd-ranked Buffaloes continue LSC South play this Wednesday, February 16, when they visit 25th-ranked Tarleton State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CST at TSU’s Wisdom Gym.

Indoor Track and Field Enters National Poll at No. 16
NEW ORLEANS – The Angelo State women’s indoor track and field team made its first ever appearance in the national polls at No. 16 when the latest United State Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II National Team Rankings were released Tuesday. At the midpoint of its inaugural women’s indoor track season, Angelo State has seven provisionally qualifying marks for the NCAA Division II National Championships to be held March 12-13 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Grand Valley State’s women remained at No. 1 in the week four poll, a place they have held since the beginning of the season. This season, for the first time the NCAA Division II’s computer rankings were calculated using a mixture of best marks from the current and previous season. As customary using this procedure, fourth week rankings calculated and released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) use data only from the current season (with exception of combined events) to formulate a team’s ranking score.

“It’s exciting for us,” Angelo State head coach James Reid said. “We’ve always been outdoors and have done well there. This is our first crack at indoors and we have a limited schedule that we’re able to run because of where we are located in the country. To be where we are is exciting, especially with the young team that we have. We’ve got a few hold-overs from last year’s national championship team, but most of the girls that are getting that ranking up there are all newcomers.”

The ranking comes a week after Chrystal Ruiz posted the third-best pentathlon score in the country this season – 3,658 at the Grand Valley State Big Meet – to bring ASU’s total number of national qualifying times to seven. Ruiz also matched her previous provisional qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles and joins teammate Bree Bennett as contenders in that event.

Andria Nussey, a member of ASU’s 2010 NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championship team, provisionally qualified for nationals in the 800-meter run with the fourth-best time in the country, 2:12.05. High jumper Kati Holly and pole vaulters Summer Sutherland and Kelsey Wilson captured ASU’s other provisional marks.

Angelo State will look to add to its collection of national qualifiers and improve on current marks when the team travels to Lubbock, Texas, for the SPC Invite Friday.

“We’ve got a relay team that we’re waiting to get on the list and I think that will happen this weekend,” Reid said. “We have a couple of individuals on the list that need to move up a bit and we’ve got Kim (Williams) knocking at the door of getting on the list in shot put. We’re looking for some good things this Friday.”